Mint — Restaurant in Town of Hempstead

DO NOT COME HERE UNLESS YOU WANT TO BE DISCRIMINATED AGAINST AND OR CHARGED FOR SH*TTY FOOD AND SERVICE!

I went to this bar/club/restaurant yesterday with my boyfriend and his friend. First, we couldn't find anyone to seat us and you could not tell who was in charge in the restaurant. We immediately noticed it was predominantly Indian crowd and were excited as we enjoy Indian food (I am of African descent and he is white).

We took a seat at the bar and immediately ordered vegetable samosas and he got a martini. The samosas came out fast. While they were crispy, they lacked any sort of taste to them. They were just hot. The dip we were given tasted like ketchup which I have never seen with samosas. I do not know what the sauce was. It gets worse from here.

I ordered my other favorite Indian dish Aloo Palak and when I asked if it comes with rice they said no! Who charges for a side of rice with a meal that comes with rice!? That's like ordering Broccoli and Chicken in garlic sauce at a Chinese place and then not giving you the pint of rice with it. Can you say cheap??

So fine, I order the side of rice. Immediately when the rice comes out I notice it looks dry. I use a spoon to put some on my plate and taste it and it is crunchy! I call the bartender over and confirm that this is indeed Basmati Rice and he says yes. Basmati rice should never be firm. It should be long, soft, fluffy, and slightly sticky. I tell him and this is where it gets real bad, the bartender has THE NERVE to stick a PLASTIC STRAW FROM THE BAR IN MY FOOD AND DIG AROUND FOR 2 MINUTES TRYING TO TASTE AND CONFIRM THIS. I am in the industry myself for years so I know the way things should be done. You NEVER touch a guests food. He proceeds to take the rice back to the kitchen and brings it back out. I taste it again and it is not as crunchy but STILL DRY! As a cook I will tell you that rice is one of the simplest things to fix when it is dry. Simply add water and cook on low to low - low-med Heat til it softens. Rice is a staple in India. There is no reason that TWICE they can not get it right.

I go to the bathroom and hear from another guest they will never come back again. This guest had a party of maybe 8 near the bar and they told me that their lamb was dry! They were not Indian either. Why is this restaurant half a**ing food and trying to get away with it on top of ridiculous prices. I also saw the manager or owner (lord knows who the heck is running the place) at their table arguing over the price as well. I sensed they were trying to charge more than was necessary. The bartender had a very rude attitude the whole night. The aloo palak was decent. But TMI I woke up 10 hours later and saw the same food in the toilet. It also burned coming out just a warning. Tmi but I need to expose this place.

Please, for your money and warm experience sake, STAY AWAY FROM HERE. There are so many other more friendly and yummier Indian places and clubs to visit in the garden city area.

My boyfriend, his friend, and I will NOT be returning. So Mint for that 30 cents you thought you were saving on poorly cooked rice, you have lost money for regulars in the future. My boyfriend and I eat out a lot and tip generously as we are both in the industry. We know many people in it as well and will make sure they spend their money somewhere more wisely.

I gave 2 stars for the music and decor. Or it would have been 1.

People, you have been warned. Also, bartender...

Worst Indian Restaurant I 'be ever been to.. Horrible and unprofessional Customer Service.. Food is OK.. Service is extremely Bad and way too Pricey. 1.We had a rooftop party booked for 3-7 pm and around 4.30 pm ,One of the supervisors approached our Guests and asked to start packing up ..we said we have time until 7 pm, he said "NO". Your time is up in 30 minutes.. "Without losing my cool, I said , "Check With your boss" ..He said" I don't need to.Your time ends at 5 pm."I had to change my tone to get him doublecheck. and even after realizing his mistake , no apology from them. This is a party 75 people with 25+kids 8yrs and Up( mentioned beforehand) so requested Mango Lassi as a drink when the menu was chosen .They bought in one pitcher of Mango lassi and 1 pitcher of Watermelon Juice. No more.. Whoever asked for it after the 1st 10-15 cups from The one and only pitcher, the reply was "Sorry.We ran out of it" . Really ?..on a Saturday afternoon Party,,A restaurant ran out of drink especially Mango Lassi ' which is everybody's favorite and we specifically asked for it when Ordering thru the menu when we booked the place..Seriously? This is how bad their service is..they serve what they feel like serving and stops when they feel like stopping.. When requested again And Again for Lassi or Watermelon by several adults, the one and only bartender said" I can't leave the booth" 😲. Isn't there A staff member to oversee these or they don't care at all..Come On Dude, Call somebody.." Supervisor is around. Owner lady and her son is right there counting heads nonstop to make sure all heads are counted..and still nobody to serve Drinks? 4.The price Quoted was including Liquor and Not even Jack Daniels or anything good was there to serve which they agreed to Serve for the price we paid. One guest was given Jack Daniels and another guest asked for the same and Bartender replied"That's not included in the menu.."If Jack Daniels is not included, what else is. 5.3-7 pm party.. 6.20 pm again.. another guy approached our Guests and asked to pack up ,, 😳Yes.( we booked the place for 3-7 pm). they were asking our guests to leave saying they have people for the next party waiting by the door.so We needed to leave asap.. it's only 6.20 pm and we booked the place for until 7 pm.. isn't it rude and insulting? 6.. We had to ask Several times to replenish empty trays..How bad is it when your guests are waiting inline to get food and nothing but empty trays are there ? Understaffed or Negligence or complete lack of respect.. Rooftop Ambience and Appearance is pathetic.Rooftop is a word they use for Open terrace to charge more$ .. nothing fancy.... tables are not even cleaned.. seat cushions are not straightened for Guests.. if You want to sit on it,, you better straighten it yourself. Most tables have mildew on them.. you pay extra$$ for a rooftop party and you have to fix the seat cushions yourself and clean the tables to rest your hands or purse.and to add insult to injury ,, asking guests to leave without even looking at the Schedule . 2 hrs early 40 minutes early.. That is so rude and unprofessional... First and last.. never again To this place.. Stay away from...

agree w/the other reviews, over priced for mediocre food. not friendly at all! first of all, no one greeted us when we walked in. went with a party of 15. as we waited for the full party to filter in, it wasnt till all 15 arrived (about 15, 20 mins later) when a man finally appeared and asked us if we had a reservation. we reserved upstairs a month prior, was told we could not go upstairs to dine, only for drinks. (previous friends had dined upstairs and recommended so we were very confused) Regardless, no apologies. no i'm sorry for the misunderstanding. just "this is where you sit" and walked away. took a while to be served (but we were a big party so we could understand) i ordered sweet and sour chicken. very undercooked! i am NOT one to complain. i've eaten overcooked steak that i ordered rare before, cause i dont like to be rude or make a big stink. but, it was chewy chicken. as soon as i tasted it i looked and saw pink. as i cut more open i realized ALL were pink inside. as i was about to say something i heard my friend say 'omg this is not cooked!' i asked her what she had gotten and it was also the sweet and sour chicken. so i assume that batch they made was not a good one, obviously. we got the waiter and explained that they were undercooked. they asked if we would like something different but i was so turned off we said no thanks we are fine with our salads and rice. no apologies again. as we are slowly starting to finish our dinners, the waiter comes and takes my friends plate away without asking if shes done. she of course said 'excuse me, im not done!' and he just said 'oh' and put the plate down and walked away. 10 mins he comes to our side, as i am spooning out rice from my bowl onto my plate he reaches for my rice bowl. our eyes meet and i say 'i'm eating that! see my spoon in the bowl?' he took his hand back and walked away.

VERY strange service. i understand places mess up food sometimes, but i've never experienced such RUDE service. i will give a place a break if they have nice waiters who apologize when they do something wrong. we had no 'i'm so sorry for the inconvenience', i never had a waiter take a plate with food away without asking "are you all done with that?' and this guy grabs it and doesnt even say 'i'm sorry i didnt realize you were not finished'

terrible experience. will never go back. went there because a friend told us about the atmosphere and the pictures of it looked nice. i feel the waiter was not a nice person in general. just unfriendly and downright rude. i feel bad one woman who was helping the waiter out must get crappy tips because...